Neither Confirm Nor Deny
by detectivejiju
Summary: Detective Danny Williams is the main suspect of a murder. They say it was an act of rage. H50 are on the detective's side trying to bring him out of this blame game. But deep down, the detective himself feels he is the murderer. Danny Whump, Steve & team angst
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is my first FF and I am anxious and excited. I would like to thank my younger sister, who encouraged me to open a document and start writing the story. Love you baby! The next most important person I would like to thank is **Cubit2** , my beta and my well-wisher who did an awesome job in correcting my FF and added magic to it. Can't thank you enough!

Any mistakes that remain are entirely my own.

Hope you enjoy reading it. :)

Disclaimer: I don't own any characters of Hawaii Five 0. It only belongs to CBS. However, I would love to own Danny. *winks*

* * *

"Have a good night sleep my dear. Love you."

His dad gave a kiss on his forehead and tucked the blanket.

"Love you too dad!"

The boy gave his brightest smile and watched his dad switch off the light and close the door, not shutting it completely but leaving a small amount of light to enter his room. He was so excited about tomorrow's school because there was a book fair and his dad gave him $20. He had about 200 books in his small library and wanted more because books were his friends and he loved them. He gave a smile and closed his eyes, forcing himself to sleep and wishing it was morning soon.

It wasn't even 10 seconds after he closed his eyes, that he could suddenly hear police sirens. And they were really loud. When he opened his eyes, he could see blue and red lights flickering on his walls, the source coming from his small bedroom window. The next thing he heard were the sound of doors slamming, loud shouts, many footsteps, his mom's screams…. In this chaos, he somehow managed to make his body move, get out of his room and the first sight that he saw was not so pleasant… could never be. There was a police officer, who was cuffing his dad's hands behind him and shouting out a series of commands. He knew them, they were the rights told to the criminals before they were arrested by the police. He had seen this on TV but what he couldn't understand was why they were arresting his dad. His dad was the best person in the world. He can't and wouldn't have hurt anyone. He could hear his mom screaming out these same thoughts to the police and then he saw her fall onto her knees. That's when he got himself to move from the position he was in, that's when he ran towards his mother.

"This is all a misunderstanding. My husband is no felon or whatever you are claiming. He is a normal person. He has been into business at the docks and every single one of them is legitimate. Please don't arrest my husband…H-He is innocent."

He had never seen his mother in so much pain. The pain in her eyes made him so weak. Tears from his eyes didn't ease the pain in his heart. And that's when he saw his father, and those tears in his eyes. That very moment his whole world came crashing down.

"I will take care of this Susan. The cops… The cops have been misled by someone. Please don't cry before our child. I will be back soon and you need to be strong….uh.. You need to be strong."– He heard his father say brave, trying to hide the pain of anguish inside him.

"But…"- He could feel his mom shuddering underneath his arms, which were wrapped around her.

"Son, take care of your mother. And don't cry…"- Those were the last words he heard from his dad.

His dad wanted to speak more but was pushed outside the house by the same cop who had cuffed him. He ran behind his dad. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. He wanted to shout and scream but his throat was dry and all the water in his body was pouring out as tears from his eyes. He tried reaching for his dad but was blocked by one of the cops and all he could see was his dad being led into the police cruiser.

"We got you and you will never see the light of day again," the boy heard the cop hiss as he pushed his father into the police cruiser.

When the cop turned to get into the police cruiser, he stopped and looked in the direction he stood. His face was expressionless but he could see the evilness in the blue eyes of that cop… the same cop who cuffed his dad. He just wanted to throw a punch on the cop's face, he knew he was good at it but couldn't move a step forward because he felt his mom's arms around him, her head on top of his and her tears wetting his hair.

He stood still because he wanted to show his mom that he was strong. He had never seen his family like this- his father's face emotionless through the window of the police car, his mom crying and trembling, he himself in shock. But out of all he couldn't bear that smile on the cop's face… the same cop who cuffed his dad… the same cop who destroyed his life.

"You will never see the light of day again." Were the only words that kept ringing in his head.

* * *

"Good Morning Danno!"

"Good Morning Steven! You seem to be in a happy mood. Did the Governor give you a pass to play juggling with grenades?"

Danny moved his hands around to show the motion of juggling as Steve got into the Driver's seat of the Camaro. Steve just grinned as he buckled the seat belt. Morning chats with Danny were like his morning swim - he loved and enjoyed them.

"I really wish I could see that day."

Steve loved the expression that Danny made – eyes rolling and moving his mouth to show absolute disgust, the same way Charlie did– Danny's cute little son. Smiling to himself, Steve started the engine and took off from his home.

"I seriously doubt that will ever happen Super-SEAL. So tell me babe, how did yesterday's party go? It's obvious you're still hungover …. I'm hurt that you had fun and didn't miss me Steven."

Danny pouted and looked over at Steve. Steve looked at him, and turned back to watch the road having a bigger grin on his face.

"It was fun Danny. We really enjoyed after a long time. You should have seen Kono, she was totally out of the world…. And how did I forget about Chin and Abby?! They were the most romantic couple on the dance floor. They danced perfectly. And Lynn… She was gorgeous Danny…"

"So your conclusion is that you never missed me?"

"You can say that… More than discussing whether I missed you, you surely missed the party Danny. How did 'Party alone' go?"

"Thanks for asking. I too had fun especially because my crazy partner was not beside me." - Danny joked.

"Seriously Danny, you should have come... You are the one who loves to be around people …But then all of a sudden Mr. Danno decided to take a day off."

Five 0 were called to a party organized by Kamekona for the celebration of the tenth anniversary of his business and involved all his dear Ohana. The party was much talked about among them and Danny didn't intend on skipping it, but blame it on his monumental headache and wrapping up a case with a ton of paper work. And because of this, Danny was forced to take a leave. He left the Head-quarters at 1 pm and was at his home for the rest of the day accompanied by medicines and his cozy bed. But somehow he just didn't know how a person with insomnia managed to sleep a day and just couldn't remember a single stuff except waking up drenched in sweat and in his favorite jersey that he didn't wear for years.. One thing was for sure – pills did wonders. He then prepared for the day, ready to take in the unpleasant words that would be thrown at him by his teammates, not to mention from the big man Kamekona himself. But above all, the mountain moving task was to convince his partner and he had indeed succeeded in it. Now, he had to pacify the others.

"Let's drop this topic…. because this is gonna be my script for the whole day… so lets drop it now… I called up Kamekona yesterday and he was so angry that he hung up the call. I guess I am in his bad books now."

"He was complaining a lot about you. But our team took care of it."

"That's why I love you guys."

Danny smiled at Steve, who gave a quick look at Danny and again turned his eyes towards the road.

"Hope you are feeling better now since we are back with a new case."

Danny just nodded. And the rest of the drive went with Steve talking about the party.

* * *

The road was a residential area and Danny saw HPD cruisers and an ambulance in the front of the apartment where the murder took place and also noticed that none of their other teammate's vehicles were there yet. Steve parked the Camaro and the duo got down to meet Lukela near the stairs of the apartment. Duke had been talking to someone who was being checked by one of the EMT's but he now joined them as they were moving into the apartment.

"What have we got Duke?" Steve asked as he checked the surroundings.

They moved into the apartment, well for Danny it was more like they ran because his crazy partner's walking style was like that.

"The victim is Kahewai Nalunani, 26 years old, Post graduate student studying at Honolulu Community College, HPU. He was stabbed multiple times. We have Bergman at the crime scene. He will be able to provide more details into that. The door knob to the apartment was damaged and we have the forensics team gathering all viable evidence. The victim stayed at this apartment with his roommate Craig Smith who reported the murder to 911 at 6:40 am today. Craig was on the North Shore and reached the apartment this morning to find the door unlocked and his roommate dead. His last contact with Kahewai was yesterday morning when both of them left to college. According to the roommate, Kahewai didn't have any enemy who could possibly end up killing him. He was a jovial-type of guy and hanged out with everyone. Craig is currently being checked out by the EMT's. He is still in the trauma of seeing his roommate dead."

Danny, Steve and Duke moved into the bedroom of the apartment to find the victim sprawled out on the floor. The whole room was trashed, blood covering each and every wall, floor, items in the room. Max was beside the victim and he stood up when he saw them entering the room.

"Hi Max. What do we have?" Steve said as he moved closer.

"Good Morning Commander. Good Morning Detective. We missed you at the party yesterday Detective." Max said, seeing Danny.

Danny knew that the whole day would go with each of his Ohana enquiring his absence at yesterday's party and had ended the conversation with Steve just now and didn't intend on starting it again. So he just gave a one-sided smile- the best way to dodge this never ending conversation. Max smiled back and started explaining his findings. Lucky for Danny, Max was easily distracted by a corpse.

"The victim was stabbed by a Kitchen knife - a Chef's knife, to be specific. The first stab was perfectly across his neck to cut through the Jugular Vein and Carotid artery which incapacitated the victim immediately. The cut was not neat as of a Physician but we can say that the murderer had above average knowledge of human anatomy. The angle of the cut shows that the victim was attacked from behind."

Max showed the large cut across the victim's neck, which was very deep and was now totally covered with coagulated blood.

"The body is covered with twenty-seven lacerations which are all superficial. The time of death is around 6:20 am. I will be able to give a detailed report after the autopsy."

"Looks like the murderer had a serious grudge and hatred towards the victim. Thanks Max," Steve said and both of them turned to leave when they met Chin, Kono and Lou at the apartment's living room.

"Hi Boss! Hello Danny!" Kono looked into Danny's eyes as if she was interrogating a criminal and said, "Danny, how did 'Stay alone' night go?"

Danny didn't know why she gave that "interrogation" look of hers, because he was no criminal. "'Stay alone night' ah? Did you guys plot on attacking me at the same time? Come on Kono, you gave your share yesterday. You can let it go." Danny winked and smiled at Kono who was now fuming.

"By the way, I got all the news about the party from Steve. But I suppose I can let it slide because now we have to chase a murderer."

"Fair enough." Chin smiled and spoke up. He was the negotiator of their gang - always calm, composed, and the peacemaker among them twenty-four seven. But this time he spoke up in order to bury the possible chance of discussing the events of yesterday's party with his girlfriend Abby.

"Thanks Chin and my lips are sealed regarding the most romantic couple of yesterday's party."

Danny gave a 'zipping his lips' action and he was received by a blushing Chin.

"In spite of missing the party and having a long sleep alone." Lou stressed 'long' more than needed and continued, "...you still look tired Danny. Did you go somewhere partying without us?" Now it was Lou's turn to speak up and he had his one eye open really wide. That was enough to make all his teammates eyes point towards Danny, scrutinising him further.

"This is the last time I am skipping an Ohana party. Kill me if I ever do it again." Danny gesticulated and prayed that this ended.

Soon the team moved into the case while Steve and Danny gave a heads up on it and explained all the information they gathered.

"Max told us that the TOD was around 6:20 am and Duke mentioned that Kahewai's roommate found the body at 6:40 am. Let's start with the witness." Danny said as they moved out of the living room.

"Chin, talk to our witness Craig and gather all the information from him. Also handle the crime scene here. Lou, check out the neighborhood and I need you to check on Craig and his alibi. Kono, you can go to the headquarters and gather all information regarding Kahewai and also inform his family. Try checking the CCTV in the nearby areas too. Danny and I will go check out his college, meet his classmates and friends to find whether there was anyone who had a motive to kill him."

They were about to split up when from no-where Danny felt a body pushing him towards the wall. It was very fast and by the time he could react, he was pinned. A fist connected with his jaw and all he could see was the color white. He was however able to come back to his senses before the guy came for the next blow and Danny successfully caught the attacker's hand mid-air. In swift motion, Kono was by Danny's side and supported him. Steve and Chin were in front of him acting as a barricade and Grover pulled the attacker away. Danny was now able to see the young man who had attacked him. The HPD quickly surrounded them and Steve started checking Danny.

"I saw you in the morning..." The attacker yelled at Danny, fighting against the restraints of Lou and other HPD officers.

"What do you mean by you saw him? Who are you and why did you attack Detective Williams?" Steve was very angry because it was his Danny who was attacked right now. Danny could see his partner's arm shaking because of the tight fist. He was angry too but his mind and tongue betrayed him and the only thing he could feel was the throbbing in his jaw.

"I'm Craig, Kahe's... Kahewai's roommate... I.. I saw him in the morning... he was wearing a New York Jets hoodie... he was carrying a duffel bag... I don't remember the color. There was no one in this road except him... He was in a hurry and he had the hood. But it fell and I saw the blonde hair... I know it's him...It's you!"

Craig was breathless and was trembling as his eyes tried to meet Danny who was hidden by Steve and Chin. Danny was totally clueless of what the boy was saying and just saw Kono who mirrored his emotions.

"I... I am from New York and it was surprising to see someone wearing a Jets Jersey... but I also felt suspicious because I didn't see him in this neighborhood before... How did I forget mentioning him to the police! Kahe is dead.. And god.. I remember seeing red stains on his jersey.. Oh God...I- It's you who killed him... I know it's you. You killed my friend... You are no Cop... You are the murderer who killed my friend... He killed my friend!"

"W-What?"- Danny heard himself say as he saw Steve turn around to look at him.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Thanks, Thanks and Thanks for the warm welcome that you have given me. Thanks for the favourites, follows and special thanks to the guest for the review. Love each and everyone who took the time to read my story! :)

I feel really terrible for the delay in uploading the second chapter. Really sorry readers. Didn't imagine that I would take 10 days to update chapter 2. I'm horrible! Maybe, you can forgive me if I update the other chapters soon (I really hope I do). This is not beta'ed. Again Sorry for that. Once my beta is available, I will get it checked and will update the beta'ed version. Until that, maybe you can read this unbeta'ed version. ;)

Hope you enjoy this chapter. :)

 **Disclaimer:** I still don't own Hawaii Five 0 and it's characters. ;) They belong to CBS.

* * *

Danny was angry, stunned and really confused. Angry because he had let Craig attack him and his jaw was in pain; stunned because he was accused by the only witness that he was the murderer of the case; confused because he very well knew that he had not killed the teenager but he doesn't have any account for the time between yesterday afternoon and the time he found himself sweating in his favourite jersey... the same damn jersey that the witness claims to have seen him. Everyone's eyes on him didn't help his mind in processing the current situation and the sight of Steve's 'Aneurysm face' was enough to further slow down his overloaded mind. Danny knew he needed to act fast, say something but he needed time.

Looking into Danny's eyes, he saw myriad emotions and could easily understand that his buddy needed time. He decided that he will handle the situation now and maybe later he can have a long talk with Danny.

"Craig, assaulting a police officer is an offence and you will be charged for the same. Officer Duke, read the rights and take him into custody." Steve spoke up with his 'Commander mode' switched on.

"What? I... He..."

Steve could see that Craig looked like a wounded animal and he was still in the shock of seeing his roommate dead. Steve felt sorry for the young man but he couldn't accept what he had done to his buddy.

"Craig, you are still in the shock of seeing the crime scene and we totally understand it. But assaulting and accusing Detective Williams is totally unacceptable."

Steve held his hand up to stop Craig from saying and continued.

"You will be checked by the EMT and will be taken into custody. A HPD officer will collect the witness statement from you. Be really sure before giving it because you are accusing a very fine detective and if it is found wrong, you will be charged with maximum penalty."

The look on Craig's face was enough to tell Steve that he understood each word that Steve spoke. Craig looked confused and remained silent as Duke cuffed him and three HPD officers guided him towards the HPD cruiser.

"Danny, you fine? How is your jaw?" Steve said as he moved closer to Danny.

Danny didn't know when his team had surrounded him. His eyes were still fixed on Craig, who was moving into the HPD cruiser with his head dropped on his chest.

"Ah... Yeah, I am fine. Steve..."

Steve cut-off whatever Danny wanted to say. "Chin, handle the situation here and follow up with Duke. Once the crime scene is secured, go and talk to Craig. That will give him enough time to come out of the trauma. I agree that he is in shock but the way he spoke seems strange... Suddenly remembering the Danny-like-guy and improvising it slowly... It doesn't look true."

Danny was really happy that Steve addressed the suspect as 'Danny-like-guy'. Danny felt a bit better after hearing it because the suspect could have looked like Danny and not necessarily him. And of the jersey, he needed time to think about that.

Chin nodded. "On it Steve."

"Lou, you need to do a thorough background-check on Craig. Validate his alibi and check the neighbourhood for any information about the person Craig saw in the morning. Check the CCTV footage here and in the surrounding neighbourhood."

"Consider it done Steve. And Danny, don't worry. We all know that the boy must have been in shock after seeing his dead roommate and his mind would have short-circuited." Lou said as he gave a pat on Danny's back for which he received a small smile from Danny.

"Kono, check with the college where Kahewai studied and gather all the Intel from there. Also check whether there is any student or staff who looks like Danny. I and Danny will go to the HQ and will gather Intel on Kahewai, Craig and the suspect."

"Ok Boss."

"Be in touch and report me whatever you guys find." With that Steve started moving towards the Camaro.

"You could use an ice-bag for that bruise Danny." Kono said as she pointed towards Danny's jaw. The bruise was 2 inches long covering almost half of his left jaw. "We will find the murderer soon and end this case. And if Craig is found guilty, then we or Steve for that matter will take care of him. We are there for you Danny." Kono smiled.

"Thanks Kono... Thanks guys." Danny smiled and followed Steve towards the Camaro.

* * *

The drive to HQ went silent and Danny was grateful it went that way because he got the time he needed. Although he didn't get a solution to the problem he was facing, he now had an idea of how to move ahead. They reached the HQ and both of them moved to the smart table to begin with their part of work.

"Steve, I would like to tell you what happened yesterday after I left the HQ."

Danny had to laugh seeing Steve's reaction to what he said and understood it quickly that Steve got it wrong about what he meant.

"Hey buddy... cool. I didn't kill Kahewai.. Surely my conscious self didn't."

Now Danny was equally serious as Steve.

"What do you mean by 'conscious self'? Danny, you are making me worried."

"Steve, like I told you yesterday, I was having a very bad headache and wanted to go home to take some medications and have a good sleep. I reached home at 1p.m, called up Kamekona, informed him that I will be missing his party and heard the rant from him. Then I called up Grace, had a small talk and informed her that I will be calling her only the next day. Because she's in England, I didn't want her to get worried about me if she did try to contact me while I was asleep... I would never miss her call... but its always better that she be informed. Then I drank aspirin and ibuprofen... maybe I did a mistake of drinking both.. all i wanted was a high intensity pain reliever and decided to drink both before my head was about to burst. Then went to bed with my boxers at about 2 p.m. Wait... I have a reason to mention boxers and I will tell you why."

The mention of boxers brought a smug grin on Steve's face and Danny was now wishing he didn't mention that.

"The next I remember is me waking up drenched in sweat and the thing that worries me is, I was wearing my very old New York Jets hoodie. This was my favourite one but I wore it rarely... the last time maybe six months ago. Now, I don't remember taking it from my wardrobe but yeah.. I could have taken it between my sleep because my air-conditioner sometimes works as a refrigerator and I have been sometimes forced to sleep fully dressed to prevent from freezing to death. I was least bothered about wearing the jersey but now, my mind is totally jumbled up. Did I kill that boy Steve?"

Steve was listening to Danny intently but the last part really increased his heart rate. Steve had never seen Danny so helpless and worried and the worst part was he didn't know how to help Danny.

"Danny, are you sure you took only the mentioned drugs?"

"Wh.. what? Yes, Steven. For your information, I don't have cocaine in my medication box." Danny gave an irritated expression but knew very well what his partner was thinking of. "I don't have drugs that are so powerful to make a person out of control, Steve. But can a wrong combination do such stuffs?" Danny gave a questioning look.

"As per my knowledge, No. Consuming wrong combination of drugs can most likely lead to diarrhoea and vomiting. But even if you were drugged, you would never kill a person Danny."

There was a brief smile exchange between the partners before Steve continued.

"Other than your change of outfit, did you find anything offbeat? Were you still in boxers? Did you find change in your personal belongings? What about that duffel bag that Craig mentioned... Do you have any duffel bag?"

Danny hated being interrogated but what mattered was he not getting accused of the murder that he didn't commit and that meant he answered Steve's questions.

"I was still in my boxers when I woke up. Hmm... I didn't find anything offbeat... I am sure of it because I would have spotted it. And No. I don't own or have any duffel bag in my apartment. Even Grace doesn't have one. Steve, I might sound silly. Is it possible for Craig to break into my house and get me changed into my jersey and then accuse me that I murdered him? What about he swapped my medications?"

Steve had to stop Danny because now he was totally out of control.

"Danny.. Danny... Let's not go there. What your saying is possible but we can think about it once we find evidence that links you to the case. As of now, Craig has said that he saw you in the road, by the apartment and actually didn't see you kill him. There can be various reasons to explain your presence at the time Craig saw you. One, it was actually you that he saw there- assuming that you subconsciously managed to walk 4 miles from your apartment to the murder scene and back, which is very unrealistic. Second, it was not you but someone who looked like you and Craig's mind assumed you to be that person. But again, coincidence that the person Craig saw wore the same jersey that you found yourself in is a bit unacceptable. But we'll assume it to be coincidence because we don't have information about the colour of the jersey and there is no proof that it was yours. It means we have a doppelganger who wants to frame you- somehow managed to replicate you, even your outfit. Third, it was Craig who murdered his roommate. The way he spoke about the guy he saw is still bugging me. But again, the jersey stuff is creating a problem."

"Thanks for the insight Steven. You really helped me by jumbling up my already confused mind. Anyways, one thing seems clear… I am going to jail for a murder I didn't commit." Danny said sarcastically.

"Danny, there is no solid evidence against you and we cannot accept the statement of Craig because the EMT's have informed us that he has been traumatised. Let us try to solve this case soon by gathering all the Intel about Kahewai, Craig and the suspect- your doppelganger. We are there for you Danny."

Danny agreed and nodded. Indeed he had his Ohana always... His perfect Ohana who will, by any means find the murderer and punish the guilty. He just hoped that he was not the person.

* * *

Danny and Steve worked on the case from HQ.

"We have our victim Kahewai Nalunani, Hawaiian native, parents who died in a car accident when he was 12 years old and was brought up by his aunt. The apartment where he was found murdered belongs to his aunt and after her death, he shared the apartment with anyone who was willing to pay rent. His financials seems fine with his only income as rent and from the part-time job he has at the docks. Our victim was booked only once and in the last month for attacking a guy in the docks. I had a talk with the manager under whom he worked and according to him, Kahewai was an affable and courteous gentleman. But when I spoke to one of the workers, he mentioned that Kahewai was behind drugs, enquiring about how to find a small-scale drug dealer in Hawaii. This happened a week back. Yesterday, he left from work at 12 noon. They didn't see him after that although he had to report to work only at 10.30am today. Kono will be able to give his academic and any other information." Danny reported to Steve.

"Okay Danny. We need to visit the docks and find out why Kahewai was behind drugs. Maybe, that landed him into this. Regarding Craig Smith, he is from New York and moved to Hawaii 2 years back for doing his post graduation in Aquatic sciences. He has been his roommate for the past 6 months. Craig lost his parents in 9/11 and have been in foster home since then. He has not been booked even once and his finances are good too. Checked with the University and he seems to be in the good books. As of your doppelganger, I did a facial recognition of you with the one in our database and nothing popped. Sorry Danny. Maybe god was happy with one Danno." Steve grinned.

"Haha.. Very funny Steven." Danny was about to give a rant but was cut off by the ringing of Steve's phone.

"Your on speaker Kono. What do you have?" Steve said as he placed the phone on the smart table. He could see that Danny was equally keen to know what Kono had for them.

 _"Steve, Danny... It's not good."_

"What Kono?" Danny's heart was beating so fast that he couldn't hear his own voice.

 _"I talked with Ikaika Hale, one of Kahewai's collegemate. He was the last person to have seen Kahewai. He was with him yesterday from about 4 pm to 5.30pm. He met him near Cafeteria at Kokea Street when Kahewai was having a verbal fight with another person. Ikaika said that he had not seen that guy and that he was a Haole. He was the one who seperated Kahewai and took him away preventing the physical fight that was sure to rise between the two. Guys, Ikaika gave the description of the man..."_

"Let me guess. He identified me as that guy. Isn't it Kono?" Danny was using all his energy to say these words. He didn't look at Steve and just kept staring at the phone waiting for a reply from Kono.

 _"Danny... His description was blond hair, blue eyes. He mentioned that the person wore a sports jersey. When I showed your picture, he identified you."_

Kono's voice was almost a whisper when she ended the sentence.


End file.
